GFI Group brokered its first European inter-dealer tranchelet trade on Tuesday. Mike Binns, an official in London, said the EUR10 million, five-year transaction was in the series four iTraxx 1-2% tranche and traded at 1090 basis points running with a 36 bps reference. He declined to name the counterparties.
Tranchelets are thin slices of the equity tranches in the credit derivatives indices (DW, 1/6). The deals have been gaining ground since credit houses began quoting two-way pricing on the instruments last month (DW, 1/20). Binns said GFI is receiving pricing support from a handful of dealers and expects to work on 0-1% and 2-3% tranches, and seven- and 10-year transactions, this month. "This market won't explode, but there is good demand," he noted.